They call it destiny, but I believe it's desire
by Kagaminelover657
Summary: Namine suddenly finds herself imprisoned in an animal cage, not knowing how she got there to begin with. It is there she meets a girl called Fiona who is in the same situation as her. Namine and Fiona must fight their way through Castle Belli to uncover it's secrets and the reason for their imprisonment. And what have Organisation XIII got to do with this? Takes place during KH2.
1. Chapter 1: Grasping the Situation

**I know what some of you are thinking. In what way can the horror game "Haunting Ground" be crossed over with the fantasy/adventure game "Kingdom Hearts"? One way would be to replace the main characters of Haunting Ground with Kingdom Hearts ones and vice versa, or make Haunting Ground a world that one of the main characters from Kingdom Hearts can visit. I've gone for the last suggestion; however I have twisted it a little. **

**You see I am big fan of quite a few characters from Kingdom Hearts, Namine being one of them. However when I watched ChaoticMonki's (A.K.A. Cry's) walkthrough of Haunting Ground, I noticed that the main character Fiona and Namine from Kingdom Hearts had quite a few similarities despite their age difference. For a start, their looks are obviously similar. Namine has light blonde hair and blue eyes, and Fiona more or less has the same colour eyes and hair. At the start of the game Fiona is wearing a white sheet, whereas Namine wears a white dress. Then when I looked on Wiki, I spotted more similarities. They have both lived a sheltered life, they are both very timid when in trouble, they aren't very athletic, they both love art, they both more or less use logic in certain situations, they both act very mature for their age and they are both defenseless without someone there protecting them. The only difference between them is that Namine sometimes chooses to stand up for herself, depending on the situation. **

**Well, now that I got that little explanation out of the way, this story follows Cry's walkthrough since he has acheived ending A in the game. And I am not abandoning my other Kingdom Hearts stories! I just felt like doing something different and new. But anyway, here is chapter 1!**

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Chapter 1: Grasping the Situation

The first thing Namine picked up was a strong scent of a substance all too familiar to her: blood. She knew the stench all too well, yet resented it slightly more than she had done before. The last time that scent had wafted into her nostrils was during the final battle against Xemnas. A lot of blood had been shed then from both sides, with Xemnas having more of it drained than Sora and Riku put together.

Namine had remembered how rigorously those two had fought. She remembered how delighted she was when Xemnas finally received the final blow from the boy's Keyblades, sending him to his deserved demise. Namine had remembered being there and witnessing everything that had happened during that battle, being hidden the entire time. She eventually revealed herself when the final battle had ended to open up a portal to allow everyone to escape. She remembered conversing with Roxas about the promise she had made him. They were both transparent and slowly starting to return to their Somebodies. It was then at that point she remembered how she and Kairi were finally going to fuse back as one again.

That's when the events had suddenly blown off track. An unknown force had sent all five teenagers flying away from each other. Namine remembered landing flat on her back, searching around frantically for help; however, everyone else had been knocked unconscious. Roxas was nowhere to be seen, which made Namine conclude that he had returned to Sora. She had noticed that she was no longer transparent. Was it because she and Kairi were far away from each other and no longer standing close together? An unfamiliar voice had called out her name. It had sounded quite cold and alluring. Her vision had started to spin, causing her to fall onto her right side. Namine's vision had started going black as she fought for consciousness with all the strength she had left. Someone was controlling her. She could feel an immense amount of pain in her body. They were trying to shut her brain down. Finally giving up willingly, Namine had remembered falling into an unconscious state.

After that she hadn't woken up again until she had smelt the strong scent of blood surrounding her. Namine kept her eyes closed shut and remained still and silent. She could tell that she had been moved from her original location. The ground beneath her felt a lot colder than it had done originally; however she was still in the same position that she had fallen unconscious in. She had decided to try to remember all the events that had happened beforehand to try to get a clear idea as to how she had gotten into this state. There was no answer. The only conclusion she could come up with was someone had kidnapped her and locked her away somewhere. There were no sounds besides the faint rattling of chains and her own heavy breathing. Should she open her eyes now? It doesn't seem like there was anyone else in here with her. Perhaps if she got a good look at her surroundings, she could decide on an escape route out of there and plan her next move. Slowly, Namine pried open both her eyes forcefully.

She was met with a blinding amount of light flooding into her eyes. Namine winced at the sudden brightness as she strained to look at what was in front of her. All she could see were bars in front of her. After blinking quickly a few times, Namine's vision finally became clearer. There were definitely bars in front of her; however she could see that they were slightly rusted. Glancing past the bars, Namine saw there was a small line of cages with the same rusted bars in the same pattern. The line stopped dead at a stone wall with a small window with bars placed across it. The room was quite dim; however the light shining in through that window was in Namine's direction and was very bright. She stared at the cages curiously. They didn't appear to be very big in height; however they were in width. They looked like they were meant for medium sized animals. Namine carefully sat up and started examining what she was imprisoned in. She was imprisoned in the same cage as the rest of them in the line she was in. She found the cage to definitely be very spacious in width; however in height it wasn't very tall, with the top of the cage only a few inches away from her head.

(It appears this cage was definitely not meant for humans…) Namine thought.

She turned to face the door of the cage and what was beyond it. The room she was in was quite small. A black metal table was placed right in the middle of the room. The shortest side of the table was facing her while the longer sides travelled upwards. The table must have been facing her horizontally instead of vertically. Placed upon it was a small pile of raw meat and an axe like knife. To the left of the table at a slight angle, was a metal rack with raw chicken meat hung by its wings. Namine frowned. Beyond the table, she could see a small flight of stairs.

(If those stairs lead out of here, then that must mean the cages are right at the back of the room. This might make matters very difficult…)

Namine glanced to her right to find another cage next to hers; however it was at an angle. She saw a pair of feet that stuck out from underneath a white sheet. It appears that Namine wasn't alone after all. There was someone else imprisoned in here with her. They were very still. She couldn't tell if they were alive or dead; however maybe she could try to get their attention. They could tell her more about the place they were in, well that's if they weren't deceased. Namine suddenly froze as the sound of large footsteps thudded down the stairs, the sound echoing loudly around the room. Instinctively, Namine lay back down in her original position and closed her eyes, leaving two small slits in her vision so she could see what was going on.

It wasn't very clear; however she could make out the figure of a very tall and chubby man entering the room. She noticed from his movements that he was walking funny. His legs were stretched apart and he kept them that way as he walked, so it almost looked like he was waddling like a penguin. The man slowly walked around the right side of the table and picked up the knife with his right hand. Namine watched on intently, cautiously opening her eyes slightly more. She could see the man more clearly now. He was bald and wore nothing but a faded, dirtied and torn cream short sleeved shirt with blue jeans and brown boots. Namine could see a small set of keys dangling from his belt. She concluded that he must work here.

Without warning, the man brought the knife down on the table hard. A small shriek had escaped from Namine's mouth. That was something she hadn't been expecting. The man suddenly made a noise as if to indicate he had heard something and quickly snapped his head in Namine's direction. Namine quickly closed her eyes slightly more as the man left the knife on the table and slowly walked towards her. His face seemed almost mutated to her, almost as if he was an ogre like creature. His eyes were coloured black. Namine pitied him. The people here must not be looking after him very well, well that's if there were other people here besides him… She froze terrified as he slowly knelt down in front of the cage door. Her heart did a somersault inside her chest.

(Has he realised I'm awake?)

The man stared at her with curiosity and let his right hand hover in mid-air, hesitating. He went to move his hand slowly towards the cage; however he retracted it quickly. He attempted to do this several times; however, every time he would continually retract his hand. A small groan sounded from the cage to her right. The man snapped his head up suddenly and quickly shifted himself so he was facing the other cage. Namine took this as an opportunity. She quietly and carefully pushed herself up, with both her arms resting from the elbow to her hand on the floor of the cage. She opened her eyes fully again to find he was doing exactly the same to the other person as he did to her. Namine found it odd that he was acting like a curious five year old. Was there something wrong with him?

The man suddenly got to his feet with his back facing her, shrieking in terror at the sudden flash of lightning. It even made poor Namine jump; however she clamped her mouth closed. She didn't want him to know she was awake. She watched him quickly dash to the stairs and disappear out the room. Namine sighed with relief and her pulse finally settled down again. She slowly sat up.

(That was too close!)

She heard a sudden scream beside her. Namine jumped and pushed herself backwards across the cage until her back was pressed firmly against the left side of it. The person who was in the cage next to her was the one who had suddenly screamed. Instead of lying down, they were sat up. The person was in fact a young girl; however Namine could see that she wasn't that much older than her. She had platinum blonde hair held up by a blue hair band and tied into a ponytail with light blue eyes. The white sheet appeared to be covering her entire body up to her chest. The girl looked around in alarm until their gazes finally crossed. The two stared at each other for a moment, waiting for the other one to speak. After a small moment of silence, the girl decided to speak first.

"Do- Do you know where we are?"

The question had come out quiet and timid, and Namine could hear the shakiness in her voice. That must have caused her to stutter. Namine shook her head in reply.

"I'm afraid not. I'm just as clueless as you"

Namine's reply had come out just as quiet. It was as if the two were afraid to be overheard by anyone who happened to be in hearing distance of this room.

(Looks like we are both just as clueless as each other)

The girl looked around the room curiously, holding the sheet up with her right hand at the corners. She stared down at herself confused. Namine thought that the sheet must not have been on her originally, which explained the confusion she was in. Namine glanced back towards the stairs, lost in thought. It would be wise for the two of them to hurry and get out of here before the man realised that they were awake and gone. But how could they get out of the cages? There weren't a set of keys around here to help them, and the only set was around the man's belt. Namine got onto her knees and crawled to the cage door. She held the lock with one hand and examined it curiously. Her eyes widened. The lock wasn't locked. She glanced towards the girl's cage and noticed the same thing. Her lock wasn't locked either.

"The locks… They haven't been locked"

The girl heard what Namine had said despite the fact it had come out very quietly, and examined her own lock on the cage door. Namine's shaky fingers fiddled with the lock until she finally freed it from the door. It hit the floor with a loud thud. She pushed the door firmly open. Namine carefully crawled out the opening and stood up straight again. She sighed with relief. It felt so much better to be out of that cramped and cold cage. She stretched to ensure her limbs weren't stiff from lying down for so long. The girl had just managed to get her lock off the door. She slowly and carefully climbed out of the cage, smiling warmly at Namine.

"That was very observant of you. I'm Fiona"

Namine returned the smile.

"I'm Namine, it's nice to meet you!"

The fear that was present in both girls had appeared to have vanished slightly, Namine could tell. It seemed it was due to the fact that they had managed to get past one obstacle, and that there was some hope of them getting out of this dreaded place. Plus they were both in the same situation and they must be glad they are not alone in their confusion. At least that is what Namine thought anyway. Even though the two girls hadn't been there for long, it was evident that the place wasn't inviting to either of them. Since Fiona appeared to be just as clueless as Namine about where they were and what was going on, she felt she could be trusted for now.

The two girls turned their attention back towards the stairs.

"I have a feeling that might be the only way out of here" Namine explained. "I saw a man enter and leave through there"

Fiona's grip on her sheet tightened.

"Alright, well we had better get moving then. I have a feeling we might be found if we stay here any longer"

Namine nodded stiffly in agreement. The two cautiously walked along the right side of the table. Namine stared intently at the blood stains as she walked by. The sight disgusted her. What kind of place was this? That was the question that was running through her mind. She knew perfectly well she had been taken to another world; however it was one she wasn't familiar with. When looking through Sora's memories, Sora hadn't even visited a world such as this before. Was she in a world that was full of darkness?

(This could be a world of darkness which people have forgotten about. A world that people abandoned and allowed the darkness to take over. I have to say, this is definitely one curious place to be sure…)

A sudden shriek knocked Namine out of her train of thought. She hadn't realised she'd walked all the way to the stairs without Fiona. Namine quickly swirled around, only to have a white blur knock her to the floor roughly and bound quickly up the stairs. Namine glanced towards Fiona concerned. They were both sat down on the floor, breathing heavily and in shock. The white blur must have knocked down Fiona as well, which is why she must have cried out. She appeared to be unscathed. Fiona was holding onto something tightly in her right hand. Namine carefully got to her feet and walked over to Fiona, kneeling down beside her. The item she was holding was a red collar. Printed on a tiny version of a gold plague was the name "Hewie" in bold black capital letters.

"Hewie…" Fiona muttered. "Does it belong to that dog that bounded away from here a moment ago?"

So that's what the white blur was! Namine thought about it for a moment.

"Possibly…"

The two suddenly jumped at the sound of an adult attempt at a childish laugh. The voice sounded familiar. It sounded like the man that had appeared in here moments ago. Namine quickly stood up and held out her hand.

"However, I think we should get moving quickly"

Fiona nodded stiffly in agreement. She carefully took Namine's out stretched hand and Namine gently pulled her back up onto her feet again.

"Thank you"

Namine nodded in acknowledgement. Taking a deep breath, the two girls cautiously descended up the stairs.

* * *

Namine winced at the sudden sunlight blinding her as she followed closely behind Fiona. A gentle breeze brushed through her hair. It felt quite refreshing. When her eyesight had finally managed to adjust, Namine glanced around at her surroundings curiously. They were in some kind of courtyard with a well looked after fountain in the centre. It appeared to be deserted. Not a single soul was present. Namine found this odd. Surely their captors would have some sort of security in this place to prevent any attempts to escape. When the Organisation held her in that room inside Castle Oblivion, they made sure there was someone there guarding her at all times. Why then would these people leave the place so open? It just didn't seem right to her…

She glanced to her right to find a large stone castle towering over them. That must be where their captors were hiding. Namine turned back towards Fiona. She seemed to be just as confused as her.

"This all seems too easy. Why would they leave this place open for us to wander around freely?"

"I do not know. I agree with you though. It's not right that they would allow us to wander around without anyone watching. Maybe we should try looking around the courtyard. There has to be an exit somewhere"

Namine nodded slowly. The two of them slowly and cautiously started exploring the courtyard. While they walked, Namine found the awkward silence in between them very uncomfortable. Even though she had been used to having someone near her before and not strike a conversation with them, it felt awkward anyway. Maybe it was because she was a long way from home and in a world that she wasn't familiar with. Namine glanced towards Fiona curiously. She was looking straight ahead with a determined look on her face. She must be determined to get out of here as soon as possible.

(She must feel the same as me…)

Then a thought suddenly came to mind. Fiona was the first person that Namine had encountered that had nothing to do with her ability to break and create new memories. She had acquainted with her of her own accord. That must be why she feels awkward around her. Perhaps she could try to relieve some of the tension between them and try to get to know Fiona better…

"How old are you anyway?"

Fiona turned to Namine, surprised at her question. She must not have expected Namine to try to talk to her. Namine had guessed she would react similarly to that to the question. After all, it was very blunt and unexpected in a situation like this.

"I'm 18"

Namine's eyes widened.

"Really? You seem a lot more mature for your age"

Fiona smiled a little at Namine's remark.

"Why thank you. That's probably because I'm a college student. I know a lot of people who are about the same age as me and have matured because of college. May I ask how old you are?"

"I'm 15"

Fiona gasped.

"15? You're not that much younger than me then. I thought you were a bit younger than that. For a fifteen year old, you seem to act very mature too"

Namine smiled.

"Thanks, a lot of people seem to tell me that too!"

Fiona and Namine finally came across a small metal gate. Namine tried to push it open with all the strength she had; however the gate wouldn't budge. Fiona looked beyond the gate to find a small wooden box in front of it.

"I have a feeling that wooden box is preventing the gate from being opened"

Namine scoured the wall to find a small hole that led to the other side. Namine sighed, annoyed.

"This hole is too small for either of us to get through"

Namine glanced back towards the castle curiously.

"There has got to be another way out of here…"

"Maybe we should try on the other side of the fountain"

Namine nodded in agreement. The two girls continued on their way, deciding to investigate around the other side of the fountain for another way out. As they walked on in silence once again, Namine placed her arms on her chest in an "x" shape to try to keep herself comforted. She didn't like this place one bit and it was starting to frighten her. It also felt very awkward since between her chest and arms was usually her trusted sketchbook, which she carried around with her nearly everywhere. Of course, she hadn't been expecting to suddenly end up in this damned place. She sighed heavily.

"It feels odd without me carrying my sketchbook around…"

"You like art?"

Namine jumped suddenly when Fiona spoke. She hadn't realised that what she said had been out loud. Namine nodded timidly.

"Yes, I like to draw. It usually helps me to calm down when I feel panicked or frightened"

"I like art too. I'm studying it in college at the moment along with music. It helps me to calm down sometimes as well. I guess that's why art is considered relaxing"

Namine glanced ahead, lost in thought.

"I can't understand why we are here in the first place. What do these people want?"

"I don't understand it either. Your guess is as good as mine. I don't believe there is anything I have that someone would want to kidnap me for. Perhaps it could be for ransom"

(Do these people know of my ability?)

"I can't understand it either. I have nothing of value that these people could want from me. I just hope we can get out of here"

Fiona smiled warmly at her.

"I'm sure we will Namine. It's too early to say whether we will or won't"

"That's true…"

The two girls found themselves in front of a small area, which was surrounded by a metal fence and a wooden gate. Fiona cautiously pushed open the gate and explored inside while Namine scouted the area around it. They both were empty handed. There was no way out of the courtyard.

"There has got to be a way out of here somewhere!" Namine grumbled, annoyed.

Fiona stared back towards the castle uneasily.

"I guess our only other option is to go inside there…"

Namine followed Fiona's gaze and nodded slowly. That was the place the two girls were trying to avoid; however their options were running out. They had no other choice.

* * *

The two girls purposely took their time heading towards the steps that led up towards a room on the second floor of the castle. Namine had found that she and Fiona had some similarities. They both liked art, they both thought about things logically, they tried all options they could think of and they both were very timid, yet acted mature for their age. Fiona definitely seemed like someone she could trust. The two of them had ended up here for a reason, and they both wanted answers as to why.

"Oh, do you remember how you got here?"

The question was quite sudden for Fiona. Namine wanted to know if she was also unconscious during the entire journey here. Perhaps there was a link between the ways they had been kidnapped. Fiona closed her eyes as the two slowly descended up the castle steps.

"I'm not entirely sure. I remember being in a car and crashing. Then I remember waking up in that cage and meeting you. I remember nothing before that or why I was even in the car to begin with"

Namine could see that she was saddened by this. She must feel horrible not knowing what had happened and why she had ended up there in the first place.

"I don't remember much either. I remember being with my friends before we were all knocked flying by some invisible force. Everyone fell unconscious, including me; although one of my friends went missing. I'm not sure what happened to him. I then awoke to the smell of blood and found myself inside that cage. I don't remember what happened between those two events…"

"This all seems very strange. Perhaps we are dealing with two different enemies here. Well that's if our events happened at the same time…"

"Yes, maybe…"

The two girls cautiously walked through the doors at the top of the steps. They found themselves in a small bedroom. Namine went first. She slowly walked towards the small steps leading up to the bedroom door and bed. There appeared to be no one around. She stood on the first step and turned around to face Fiona.

"It's alright, the coast is clear"

Fiona nodded and slowly followed behind her. Namine glanced around the room, her gaze going towards a nearby painting. It was of an elderly gentleman. His eyes seemed to have a cold atmosphere to them and his expression remained serious, cold but serious. His gaze sent chills down Namine's spine. She and Fiona slowly walked towards the door; however Namine sensed there was someone else in the room with them. As soon as Fiona reached out for the door handle, Namine slowly turned around to look by the bed. She almost stumbled back into Fiona as she gasped at the sight of a purple haired woman with grey eyes standing by the bed. Fiona swirled around quickly at the sound of Namine's gasp. She too gasped at the sight of the woman before them. She wasn't there a moment ago, Namine was sure of that. In fact, she hadn't heard anyone enter here behind them. The woman smiled a smile that was almost sinister and gestured her right arm towards a small pile of clothes on the bed.

"I have gathered some clothes for you"

She spoke in a monotone voice rid of all emotion. The two girls kept their eyes glued to the woman as she slowly started walking towards the door. The woman's eyes stared down at Namine.

"I shall show you to your guest room. This room is for Miss Fiona"

The girls' eyes widened simultaneously. How did she know Fiona's name? Did these kidnappers know who they were? The two girls slowly moved away from the door as the woman approached it. The door suddenly opened, revealing a person all too familiar to Namine. She was wearing Organisation XIII's black cloak. She had a darker shade of blonde hair than Namine and blue eyes.

"Don't worry about Miss Namine, Daniella. The Master wants me to take care of her"

"L-Larxene?" Namine stuttered, surprised.

Larxene turned to her slowly and nodded. Her expression was neutral. Namine could see that she didn't have the same evil smile she always had plastered on her face. Also, her tone matched the woman, Daniella's, voice. There was something off about all of this, yet she couldn't place a finger on it.

"Yes, that is my name. If you would kindly follow me Miss Namine, then I shall lead you to your guest room"

Without another word, Namine followed closely behind Larxene as she was led out of the room. She glanced briefly back at Fiona who gave her a stiff nod. Just as Daniella was about to leave, Namine heard Fiona call out to her not to go. She couldn't hear or see the rest of the conversation as when she turned back around to check on Larxene, she had already stridden quickly down the corridor. Namine dashed after her as Larxene halted suddenly in front of a nearby door. It was opposite Fiona's room. Perfect. It wouldn't be so hard to get to Fiona now without being spotted. Larxene slowly opened the door and stood to one side to allow Namine to enter. Namine watched curiously as Larxene faced a portrait in the guest room. It was the same picture of the elderly man from the other room.

"Yes Master, we shall keep them here for a while. I shall make sure that she is comfortable"

Namine slowly entered the room, keeping her eyes fixed on Larxene suspiciously. Once fully in the room, she looked around curiously. She jumped at the sound of the door closing behind her. She glanced around the room properly this time. It was the same layout as Fiona's; however there was no doorway that led outside to the courtyard. Namine timidly walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge of it.

Larxene was not herself, Namine could see that. The way she was acting, the way she spoke… It definitely wasn't her. Namine had also found that Larxene knew who she was, but addressed her as "miss". Plus, how was Larxene even alive? Namine had witnessed with her own eyes Larxene's death at the hands of Sora in Castle Oblivion. She vanished into nothing! Larxene acted like that other woman, Daniella, and the two seemed to know each other. How was that? And if Larxene was here, does that mean the rest of Organisation XIII were here too? Namine placed her hand to her forehead. All of this thinking was confusing her.

(I admit that I am frightened right now. I don't know where I am or how I even got here. I don't know if Sora, Kairi, Riku and Roxas are ok. I don't even know who the hell has brought me here. And now Larxene is acting nice towards me? This has to be some kind of act, unless Larxene is being controlled… If Organisation XIII is involved in this, the reason why I am here must be a very dangerous one for me, and yet I am unaware of it. That is what is frightening me the most; however it must have something to do with my abilities. That is the reason why the group were so interested in me before)

Namine glanced back intently towards the painting of the elderly man on the wall. At least she could conclude one thing about this place. There was someone behind that painting watching her. After all, she knew perfectly well that paintings couldn't show proper emotion.

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**Please read and review. I want to know if this is any good. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading. :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Mistaken for dolls?

**I was going to wait until I got reviews before posting the next chapter up; however, I decided that I should continue this before I lose interest in it. So, I shall now present to you Chapter 2! Enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer (Forgot to do it last chapter): I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Haunting Ground. Otherwise I wouldn't be here!**

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Chapter 2: Mistaken for dolls?

Namine sighed heavily as she lay down on her bed silently, staring intently up at the ceiling. She had been lying there for the past ten minutes listening to the continued ticking of the grandfather clock. For the time being, Namine had decided to leave Fiona alone so she could get changed and get used to her room. In the meantime, she had literally been doing nothing but thinking the events through that had happened so far. She thought she should recap what she had put together.

Before Namine could fuse with Kairi again, an unknown force had knocked those two, Riku, Sora and Roxas flying. In the process, Namine had someone take over her body and put her in an unconscious state. When she woke up, she found herself imprisoned inside an animal cage along with another girl called Fiona. They had managed to escape the cages they were in since the man, who Namine now believes could possibly be the caretaker of this place, had stupidly left the cages unlocked. The two girls had scoured the courtyard for an escape route; however they hadn't found one. Their only other option was to enter the castle, where they met Daniella, who Namine believes to be the maid, and Larxene. Namine had noticed Larxene had been acting strangely, and she wasn't her usual self. Also, since Larxene is here Namine believed that it was likely the work of Organisation XIII and that they are somehow connected to all this. Namine also thought that the whole thing was set up, which was why the cages weren't locked and Fiona had received the spare set of clothes.

Namine's mind kept retracing itself straight back to Larxene and the Organisation. The way Larxene had behaved back there was not normal, she knew that. With how much time she had spent inside Castle Oblivion continually teasing and taunting her, she should know what Larxene was truly like. Yet it didn't make any sense. Larxene wasn't herself and was alive…?

Namine slowly sat up and rubbed both her temples with her fingers. This was just too much. What on earth had she gotten herself into? Or more likely, what had the person who kidnapped her gotten her into? There were only a few things Namine could conclude about this place. One, the maid and the caretaker were under orders from someone higher than them. Two, there was someone watching her and possibly Fiona's movements around this place. Three, Organisation XIII were most likely involved in this due to Larxene being present. Four, Namine was brought here possibly because of her special ability. And five, Fiona was the only person she could trust at the moment.

(There has got to be a way out of here somewhere. Maybe if we could find a map of the castle we could find the exit!)

Namine jumped at the sound of knocking on her door.

"C-Come in"

The door slowly opened with a loud creak. Namine braced herself in case it was Larxene; however, she sighed with relief when she saw Fiona walking through the door and shutting it quickly behind her. Namine could clearly see that Fiona had changed into the clothes that were given to her. She was wearing a long sleeved white shirt with puffy sleeves, a dark purple skirt, black stockings and brown boots.

"Did anyone see you?"

Fiona shook her head, deciding to linger by the door.

"No, there was no one around when I checked"

Namine could tell by the way Fiona was looking at her that something was bugging the girl. Fiona sighed.

"You seemed to know one of the maids back there, the woman with the blonde hair. What was her name again?"

"Larxene. Yeah I know who she is… She works for a group known as Organisation XIII. You could say that we are enemies. She's not acting herself and last time I checked, Larxene was deceased. I witnessed with my own eyes her death. All I know is that since she is here, then Organisation XIII are behind this. They are after me again"

"Do you know why they have come after you again?"

Namine bit her lip at the question.

(Should I tell her? I can't meddle with the worlds as much as I have done. If I tell her, it could cause serious trouble. She is from this world; however not from this exact place. Fiona doesn't understand the concept of Keyblades and Heartless like I do. I live in a separate world to her)

Namine sighed heavily. She couldn't lie again. She remembered the last time she had lied and how much trouble it had gotten Sora in…

"Yes… I have a certain power which no one else possesses. I can create memories from scratch and break the chain of memories inside a person. In simpler terms, I can alter memories"

Fiona stared at her confused; however she looked like she was paying close attention. Namine continued.

"It's a gift I have had for quite some time and I can control it very well. I can take the memories of a person and replace them with new memories created from nothing; although, they don't fully forget their old memories. I can't destroy the original memories, but I can replace them. Organisation XIII came after me once before and forced me to use my power against their enemy Sora. Eventually with Sora's help, I defied them and the members watching over me, Marluxia, Vexen and Larxene, were all sent to their demises. I have a feeling that is why they are after me again"

"So, your gift is almost supernatural?"

Namine frowned at the word "supernatural". It was unfamiliar to her. She had never come across such a word in her lifetime; however, to prevent confusing Fiona further, she nodded stiffly in agreement.

"Yes, you could say that…"

Fiona sighed and slowly walked towards the bed. She carefully seated herself by Namine and the two sat in silence for a few moments.

"I still haven't worked out why I am here yet. But at least we can confirm that if this Organisation come from where you do, then we are dealing with two different enemies"

Namine nodded.

"Yes, and it seems they are working together. We need to get out of here as soon as possible, but how?"

"I think we need to locate a map. If we can find a map of this castle, then we can find a way out of here"

"I was thinking that too; however, what about Larxene and Daniella? Surely they will be wandering around the corridors. What if they see us?"

Fiona smiled.

"It's not a problem! All we have to tell them is that we are having a look around the castle. Either that or we can just hide when we hear someone coming our way"

Namine smiled, nodding in agreement.

"All right then, let's go!"

* * *

The two girls quietly exited Namine's guest room and turned towards a door on their right. After making sure the coast was clear, the two walked along a wide balcony which led to another part of the castle. At first Namine was quite drawn to the white pillars that stretched along the balcony. They reminded her too much of her time in Castle Oblivion. Anything white that she saw reminded her of that dreaded place. She had been kept locked away in there for so long, never knowing what was going on or what was outside of its walls. The thought made her feel isolated; however, she was suddenly snapped from her thoughts when she came across one pillar covered in blood. After being reminded of where she was, Namine continued to follow timidly behind Fiona across the balcony.

Once on the other side, Namine noticed there was a door to the right that had been left open a crack. Curiously, Namine approached the door without any hesitation and gently pushed it open. She stared in awe at the room before her. She had come into the castle's library or someone's study at least. Namine was surprised. She had never seen so many books in her life. The room was quite dim; however there was a bit of light looming around the room from a desk lamp that had been left on.

Straight away, Namine's attention had been caught by a chalk board at the other end of the room. She dashed over to it and read it. The board spoke of "Luminessants" and something called an "Azoth". Fiona followed Namine to the other side of the room.

"What does it say?"

"It is talking about creatures called "Luminessants" and something called an "Azoth". Apparently, Luminessants are tiny creatures that respond to ethereal energy given off by Azoth. They can be used to help track down Azoth; however, they send off a small charge which can shock the carrier when they come into direct contact with it. Depending on the amount of concentration that Luminessant has, it can be fatal. And also, a Luminessants' lifespan decreases when they come into contact with open air. It doesn't say what an "Azoth" is…"

Fiona frowned.

"I have not heard of such creatures before"

"Neither have I"

Fiona caught something out of the corner of her eye. On the desk, there was a photo of a creature she didn't appear to recognise. She walked over towards the desk and carefully picked it up. She stared at it curiously. Namine followed her.

"What's that?"

Fiona showed her the picture. Namine gasped.

"That's a Heartless!"

"A Heartless?"

Namine bit her lip. Surely there was no harm in telling Fiona about Heartless! They appeared in every world! Knowledge like that can't cause anything bad if Heartless appear everywhere, right?

"A Heartless is a creature that's created from the darkness in people's hearts. They seek out the hearts of humans and devour them to try to replace the heart that they lost. They mainly come after people with very pure hearts, like some Keyblade wielders. There are different kinds of Heartless. There are Emblem Heartless and normal Heartless. Emblem Heartless are artificial Heartless. They are manmade. The Organisation are particularly fond of them, since they carry tons of hearts inside of them. This might be another reason why they are here. Heartless appear whenever they sense light; however, I doubt we will come across any here…"

"What kind of Heartless is this?"

"An emblem one I think. I can't understand. Why would these people have a picture of a Heartless?"

"Perhaps this Organisation and the owners of this castle have definitely collaborated"

"Yes, you might be right"

The girls continued to scour the room for any sign of a map of some sort. There wasn't one to be found anywhere, not even hidden inside the books. Namine sighed.

"Is there anywhere else we can look?"

"Why don't we try going further down the corridor?"

Namine nodded in agreement. The two exited the room slowly; however, Namine paused when she saw a shadow looming on the wall. Fiona slowly and quietly crept closer to it and tried to look around the wall down the corridor to their right. She gasped suddenly and tumbled onto her backside as a doll came flying out of nowhere and landed on the floor opposite her. Namine had jumped slightly when she saw the doll flying past. The two girls froze in their places when someone appeared from behind the wall, slowly walking towards the doll from around the corner. Namine gasped. It was the caretaker from the room they had been locked in.

The man slowly bent down and carefully picked up the doll off the floor. He turned around to face the two girls who were now trembling in front of him. Namine knew that making him angry was a bad idea. He appeared to be a man of great strength and could possibly kill them with one punch to the gut. The man glanced back towards the doll as Fiona slowly started pushing her way away from him. The man glanced back and forth between them and the doll for slightly longer, almost as if he was comparing their features. Namine quickly helped Fiona to her feet as the man chucked the doll to one side carelessly.

He laughed manically, making the two girls scream in horror. They quickly swirled around and ran back up the corridor. The man chased after them intently as they dashed madly across the balcony and back through the door they came through. Namine slammed the door shut, breathing heavily and pressing her back tightly against it. She could hear the man faintly cry out "Come back dollies!".

"Now what do we do?" Fiona cried. "We've got to lose him!"

Namine glanced between the two bedrooms. An idea suddenly came to her.

"Fiona, go and hide under your bed in your room. I'll go and hide under mine. He won't know where we've gone then!"

Fiona frowned.

"Are you sure he won't?"

Namine and Fiona suddenly jumped as a loud thump came from the other side of the door.

"We don't have much choice! It's either hide or die!"

Fiona nodded uneasily. The two quickly split up to the right and left and dashed into their bedrooms, just as the door was slammed open. Namine lay down on her belly and quickly rolled under the bed. She held her breath as the man came charging into the room, laughing giddily. She was hoping he was stupid enough to not look under here. Namine's eyes stayed glued to his back as he waddled around the room from one place to another.

(For a man that walks strangely, he is quite fast)

Namine frowned every time he went and checked the same places over and over again.

(However, he doesn't appear to be very intelligent…)

After a while, the man finally decided to give up. Namine waited until the man had finally disappeared back out of the door again, before sighing in relief. She slowly rolled out from under the bed and crept towards her door silently. She made sure the coast was clear before quickly dashing over towards Fiona's room. She almost gasped when she saw the man with his back to her in the room. Namine quickly hid behind the wall and waited until she heard him exit through the other door at the far end of the room.

As soon as the door slammed shut, Namine quickly dashed inside the room and charged towards the door. She locked it quickly and let a small sigh escape from her mouth. She wasn't going to allow him to continually chase them everywhere. Namine glanced towards the bed as Fiona slowly rolled from underneath it and stood up, dusting off the front of her shirt.

"That was fast thinking Namine! You just saved us from getting killed!"

Namine returned a small smile. Fiona sighed in relief.

"That was too close. Why was he chasing us anyway?"

Namine glanced back towards the door, lost in thought for a moment.

"I have a feeling that he must have thought we were large versions of that doll he was holding, considering I heard him continually shouting "Come back dollies". And after what he was doing to the doll, I don't think I would have liked him to have caught me…"

Both girls cringed at the thought. Even if that man had just wanted to hug them, he probably would have squeezed both girls to death. Namine had a feeling he didn't know his own strength. She held her chin in thought.

"I've noticed that he also seems to be quite unintelligent. Not once did he think to check under the bed when investigating our rooms. He was the same man that was in the room when we were both locked up in those animal cages. I think he was the one that forgot to lock them"

"Yes, you might be right. There has got to be something wrong with him. I'm not going to believe that this castle is some fake horror house"

"Yes, I agree. This is definitely real enough…"

Without another word, the two girls silently left the room.

* * *

After finally reaching back to where they had originally left off, they both walked down the corridor the man had been down moments before. To their left, there was a small dark brown door. Fiona pushed open the door slowly and quietly. She had a quick scan of the room before beckoning with her finger for Namine to follow behind her. The two cautiously entered the room to find it completely abandoned. A shattered chandelier had been left smack bang in the middle of the room with shattered glass scattered around the floor like tiny marbles. The only other items in the room were a table and a typewriter. Of course only Fiona knew it was a typewriter. Namine had never seen such a thing before.

"What is this?"

Fiona raised an eyebrow.

"You don't know what a typewriter is?"

Namine shook her head timidly. She was hoping that didn't make Fiona too suspicious of her. Fiona didn't seem fazed by the question.

"A typewriter is an old fashioned machine that people used to use to put printed words onto paper. A lot of people don't use typewriters nowadays; although in a place like this, I never expected to come across one"

Namine approached the typewriter cautiously. She noticed that instead of paper, there were metal plates placed in it instead. Namine slowly reached out to touch the object, when suddenly a sharp pain ran through her head. She knew this feeling all too well… Namine closed her eyes and fell to her knees, groaning in agony. She gently placed a hand to her forehead, making the image clearer so she could finally see the image that was beginning to form in her mind more clearly.

* * *

Namine glanced around at her surroundings and sighed heavily. She was still in the typewriter room as she had now nicknamed it; however, Fiona was no longer with her and her surroundings were a light blue colour. Everything was light blue, including the objects.

(Great, I've accidently connected with the chain of memories in this room, or more likely I have connected with the chain of memories attached to the typewriter. I wonder what Fiona is thinking right now…)

Namine jumped at the sound of the door creaking. She saw Larxene slowly walk into the room. Namine quickly moved out the way from in front of the typewriter. She knew that if she stood in Larxene's way, Larxene would walk straight through her. She hated that feeling. It felt like a breeze had blown straight through her. Namine shuddered at the thought as she watched Larxene slowly approaching the typewriter. Namine stood silently beside her as Larxene began to press the keys. The word that had come out on the plate was "EMETH". Namine frowned.

("Emeth"? What on earth could that mean? And why is Larxene using the typewriter in the first place?)

Namine watched as her surroundings slowly began to fade to black.

* * *

Her eyes flashed open as Namine began gasping for breath. Her arms fell limp at her sides. Finally gaining the feeling back into her body again, she could feel hands holding both her shoulders tightly. Namine weakly turned her head to the left to find Fiona staring at her worriedly. She had a lot of explaining to do…

"What happened? Are you alright?"

Namine nodded timidly.

"Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry, that happens all the time. I'm used to it"

Fiona frowned at her as she carefully helped Namine back onto her feet again.

"You spaced out for a moment there. I was getting worried. You're not psychic as well, are you?"

Psychic? Fiona was using more words that Namine had never heard of. She shook her head.

"No, it's connected to my ability. Without realising, I sometimes connect to either a room or an object's chain of memories. Despite the fact that they may not be living things, if they have had a living thing of some sort come into the room or touch an object then I can see it through the object. It's almost like I connect to the person's memories indirectly. From your view, I tend to space out; however, that is because I'm thrust straight into the memories"

"So what you just saw now was the memory of who last used the typewriter?"

Namine nodded.

"Exactly, and it was Larxene. She was typing something onto the plate. I think it was the word "Emeth"; although I have no clue what that means…"

The two girls looked at the typewriter intently.

"Do you think we may need that plate?" Fiona asked, curiously.

"I think so yes…"

Fiona stood in front of the typewriter and began to type the word "Emeth" onto the plate. Namine felt uneasy about all of this. It may be their only way forward; however, it could also be a trap. She had told the Organisation all about her ability, or at least what she knew about it already. This was one of those things. She sensed that they could be manipulating her gift to lure her and Fiona into a trap. Why else would Larxene have use for a typewriter anyway?

* * *

After claiming the plate, the two girls finally exited the room and decided to investigate the room on the other side of the corridor. Well, once they had managed to move the trolley blocking the door. They found themselves in a room with various chemicals and experimenting equipment spread out across the table placed in the middle of the room. A cooking stove that was lit stood at the far end of the room. To their left, was a giant figure made out of soil. Namine slowly approached it. She carefully reached out her hand and touched the figure's arm.

Namine fell to her knees again, and this time Fiona was at her side attempting to hold her steady.

"Not again…" Namine grunted.

Namine closed her eyes tightly.

* * *

She was stood in front of the figure still. This time, Daniella and the caretaker were stood in the room. The man had his doll with him. She watched intently as he giggled at it happily. Namine couldn't understand why he acted like a small child. It only proved Fiona's theory of him further. Perhaps there was something wrong with him…

Larxene suddenly strode into the room with the plate clutched tightly in her hand. She grinned evilly at Daniella.

"I have completed the task your master wanted me to do"

She carefully handed Daniella the plate. Larxene was still talking in the same tone as before. Despite the fact she was showing her usual evil smile, she still wasn't the same Larxene that Namine had known from Castle Oblivion.

("Your" master...? That must mean Organisation XIII are working with the owners of this castle!)

Daniella slowly walked over to the figure. Namine quickly moved aside as she placed the plate inside a slot located on the figure's chest. Daniella quickly stepped back as the figure began to shake to life. Namine's eyes widened. She watched intently as the figure stiffly walked to the right wall before coming to a stiff halt.

(So the plate is used to make the figure move…)

The man was clapping happily at the scene before him. Daniella turned back to Larxene.

"Miss Fiona and Miss Namine are bound to come this way. Therefore, they must be led in the right direction. We will continually leave them clues so that they come here and go straight to where our masters want them to go"

Larxene froze at the sound of footsteps.

"They're coming. Debilitas, get out of sight quickly"

The man nodded stiffly as he quickly dashed out the room.

(Debilitas? Is that the name of the man?)

Everything suddenly turned black.

* * *

Namine gasped and quickly sat up. She frowned. She wasn't lying on the floor originally.

"How did I end up on the floor?"

Fiona carefully helped Namine to her feet.

"You were moving around a bit, so I laid you down on the floor. That way you wouldn't hurt yourself"

Namine smiled.

"Thank you for that"

"So what did you see?"

Namine carefully took the plate from Fiona's hand and approached the figure standing as still as a statue in front of the door. She placed the plate in the hole of the figure's chest and quickly stepped back. The figure came to life, exactly like she had seen in the memories, and it started walking towards the right. It halted in front of the wall, revealing a door behind it. Fiona stared on shocked.

"I don't think I would have gotten this far without your help, you know"

Namine giggled.

"I'm pretty sure you would have. You're older; therefore you're wiser, right?"

Fiona laughed.

"Why thank you!"

Namine glanced uneasily towards the door.

"I'm not sure we should go through there. Larxene and Daniella have been in here. Daniella mentioned that we should be coming down this way since it leads straight to where their masters want us to go..."

Fiona glanced at the door thoughtfully for a moment.

"There isn't really much choice. We're going to have to if we want to get out of here"

Namine hung her head towards the floor. She was afraid Fiona was going to say that. She couldn't face the Organisation again. She didn't want to end up back inside Castle Oblivion again. Namine knew she would be alone, and that was something she couldn't face. Not after all the time she had spent being surrounded by people. Fiona turned to Namine with concern. She could see clearly the uneasiness in her expression. Fiona knelt down in front of Namine and placed both her hands gently on her shoulders.

"I can understand that you don't want to face the enemies that have already come after you once before; however you won't be alone when that happens. We both got stuck in this mess together, and we are going to fight our way out of here together"

Namine stared at Fiona surprised as she gave her a warm smile.

"Despite the fact that neither of us are good fighters and athletes, we still have our brains to make up for it. If we work together, I am sure we will get out of here alive. There is no way I am leaving you behind. After all, we are friends now, aren't we?"

Namine continued to stare at Fiona surprised.

(Did she just say we were "friends"…? Have I actually made a friend without using my ability to control them?)

A small smile appeared on Namine's face. She nodded stiffly.

"Yes we are. You're right. Lead the way"

Fiona gave her a stiff nod in response and slowly stood up. The two walked slowly through the door.

"By the way, the man's name is Debilitas. Just thought I'd let you know!" Namine laughed.

Fiona laughed along with her as they continued on outside.

* * *

The two girls continued to explore the castle further. They managed to get through most of the doors without having to solve a single puzzle in their way. They found this was a bit of an advantage for them! In the meantime, Namine had been sensing a lot of darkness around the castle. The further they went inside and outside, the more darkness she could sense. It was getting stronger and stronger by the minute. She didn't like it; however they pressed forward nonetheless.

Eventually the two girls came across a small room with a table at the far end. Namine glanced around the room curiously. The darkness was at its strongest here. She could sense someone very powerful in this room. Their heart appeared to be very dark indeed… Fiona spotted something glistening next to a candle holder on the table. It was a gold key. Cautiously, Fiona approached the table and reached out for the key. The two girls jumped and gasped at the sound of someone slamming their hands down on a set of piano keys. Fiona slowly stepped away from the table. Namine looked up to find a balcony above them with a set of stairs leading downwards.

"Ah Fiona, Namine, I see you two have finally awakened!"

Namine's eyes widened.

(That's the same voice that I heard before I passed out!)

"There is something that I've wanted to show you both for quite some time. Pull away that sheet behind Fiona"

Namine glanced behind Fiona to find something sitting under a white sheet on a sofa. Namine noticed it took up both seats. Fiona followed Namine's gaze curiously towards the sheet. The two girls slowly approached it cautiously from either side. They both grabbed the top of it tightly. After nodding simultaneously, they both quickly yanked the sheet off the object. When they both looked back, they gasped in horror. Namine stumbled back in surprise, almost falling to the floor. Fiona moved back suddenly and placed a hand to her chest. She scanned the objects up and down with her eyes in shock. The objects in question were in fact wooden figures of Fiona and Namine; however, there was a twist to them.

Fiona's figure sat on the right side of the sofa. It looked perfectly normal and captured all her features; however her stomach seemed to be a lot rounder than what it was now. Namine's figure was lying down with her head on the left side of the sofa. She was lying on her stomach with her face facing towards Namine. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was gaped open in horror. There was a hole in the right side of Namine's forehead. Red paint had been used to represent what Namine believed to be blood trickling from the hole and down her face.

"Beautiful, aren't they? That is what the two of you will become in the future. Go ahead… You may touch them if you like"

Namine moved as far as she could away from the figures. She was definitely not touching them!

"You will be mine Fiona! And so will Namine's ability!"

A loud evil laugh echoed around the room before slowly dying down. Both girls stood there in horror, still gazing at the figures before them. Namine could feel herself trembling and her heart pumping furiously against her rib cage. She couldn't speak. The words wouldn't form properly when she opened her mouth to talk. Is this really what would become of them in the future?

Finally Fiona managed to shake herself out of her trance state. Namine closed her eyes and relaxed herself. The two girls exchanged worried glances for a moment before both pairs of eyes fell upon the key resting on the table.

"I think we should continue on. We can't dawdle here" Namine finally suggested quietly.

Fiona nodded stiffly in agreement. Once Namine had retrieved the key from the table, the two girls slowly exited the room without another word. Neither dared to look back at the wooden versions of themselves. They both had guessed the fates that were to come if they were caught by the people here…

* * *

Roxas slowly opened his eyes to find himself lying on something cold and soft. He found he was staring up at the night sky above him. Wait a minute, he wasn't originally lying flat on his back, right? He slowly sat up and glanced around. He appeared to be in some kind of courtyard. No, he definitely wasn't here when he fell unconscious… He was on the flying stronghold of the Organisation. Sora and Riku had just defeated Xemnas, and Kairi and Namine were about to fuse back together when something knocked all five teenagers flying. Namine… Sora, Riku, Kairi…

Roxas glanced around frantically, leaping to his feet in the process.

"Namine! Sora! Riku! Kairi! Where are you guys? Hello! Anyone?"

Roxas glanced down at himself suddenly. He found he was no longer transparent. How can that be? Roxas looked around curiously.

(What the hell am I supposed to do now? What's going on? Where the hell am I?)

Someone must have kidnapped him. There was no other explanation. He had been moved from where he must have last fell unconscious. Roxas stared up at the castle before him and sighed heavily.

(I suppose I should go and ask the residents of this castle for help. Maybe they can help me find the others)

Without a second thought, Roxas started strolling towards the castle; however, unbeknownst to him, a pair of eyes were watching him from nearby.

* * *

**Please read and review if you like this story! I really want to know if it's good or not! I'd honestly appreciate feedback! Thank you for reading! :)**


	3. Chapter 3: A Furry Companion

**Wow. This has to be the longest chapter I've ever done! Thank you to the one person who has reviewed this story, and also to the one who favourited and followed it too! I really appreciate the support. So just for you guys, I have done the third chapter. I hope you all enjoy it! :)**

* * *

Chapter 3: A Furry Companion

Neither Fiona nor Namine said a word as they slowly began to retrace their steps back towards the room they had originally come from. They had scoured the area outside of the room where they had encountered one of the inhabitants of the castle for a way ahead; however, there didn't appear to be one. Therefore the girls had to retrace their steps back towards the room where they had encountered the giant clay doll. Fiona had remembered encountering a door which she couldn't open, since apparently it had been locked. She had come to the conclusion that the key was for that door.

As they walked back the way they came, Namine's mind continually flitted back to the wooden figure of her. It was obvious what fate was in store for her if she was caught by these people... Death. She was to die so they could steal her ability; although, she knew that they were going about it in the wrong way. Her ability was imprinted into her brain. If she died, her ability would die with her. Simple. Of course they didn't know that. So for now, she was going to have to try to fight for her life as well as a way out of here. She wasn't going to allow them to discover the truth.

The two girls finally came across the door. Namine carefully passed Fiona the key. Just as Fiona went to place the key in the lock, something caught her attention. She turned back towards the way they had come to find a small blue light floating towards the well. Namine thought it was a very pretty little thing, yet she sensed a small amount of darkness around it.

"What is that thing?" Fiona asked, curiously.

A thought suddenly crossed Namine's mind.

"I think that might be a Luminessant. That must have been what the chalk board was talking about. I know for a fact it is definitely not a Heartless!"

The Luminessant slowly started flying towards Fiona. Namine felt a big increase in the Luminessants' darkness. Something wasn't right… Namine quickly took the key from Fiona's hands and placed it in the lock as the Luminessant drew nearer. As soon as she heard the click while turning the key, Namine yanked the door open roughly and ushered Fiona inside. She slammed the door closed, and let out a small breath of relief. Fiona stared at her confused.

"Why did you do that?"

"The minute that Luminessant started heading towards you, I felt a big change in the darkness that was surrounding it. I think it might be dangerous for us to go near those things"

Fiona gave Namine a small smile.

"Thank you for that"

Namine nodded, smiling a little in return. Just as the two were about to press further down the corridor, Fiona spotted a shadow move along the floor. She froze in place and began to tremble slightly, rubbing her eyes to try to assure herself that she was seeing things; however, Namine immediately noticed Fiona's sudden change in mood and glanced in the direction the shadow was coming from. Straight away she knew what it was.

"A Heartless!"

"That's a Heartless?"

"Yes, a Shadow one. I never thought they would exist around here…"

The Heartless appeared to be aiming for Namine, which Namine found odd. They mainly went for Keybladers. So, why was it aiming for Namine more than Fiona? Namine moved to the left as far away from Fiona as she could go.

"Fiona, go! Get away from here! I'll distract the Heartless!"

Fiona didn't budge. She wasn't planning on leaving Namine alone anytime soon. She started looking around for something she could use to help her. Namine was cornered. The Shadow Heartless lunged forward hungrily. Namine shielded herself with her arms, and closed her eyes tightly. The next sounds she heard were the sounds of Fiona's gasp and the agonising screeches of the Shadow Heartless. She slowly opened her eyes and gasped at the sight before her. Namine was holding a Keyblade! It was similar to Kairi's. The Shadow Heartless had vanished.

"A Keyblade…? But how did I get this? I'm not chosen!"

Fiona stared at the weapon in Namine's hand in awe.

"What is that?"

Namine sighed. Fiona knew quite a bit already that she shouldn't know. Was it wise to tell her these things? But she couldn't lie. Not again. It had already caused Sora a lot of hassle which he didn't even need.

"It's a Keyblade. This is a weapon which is used to vanquish the dark; however, for some Keyblade Wielders, it is used to vanquish the light also. Because of how pure a Keyblader's heart is, Heartless target them over anyone else. That's probably why the Heartless came for me over you. But why me? Why was I chosen?"

Namine and Fiona jumped a little when the Keyblade vanished.

"At least we can defend ourselves with something" Fiona laughed.

Namine nodded.

"Yeah, at least we have something!"

The two cautiously continued down the corridor and down a small set of stairs until they found a door to their left. This time Namine was the one who entered first. The minute she opened the door, the scent of raw meat wafted into her nostrils. She scrunched her nose. The smell was too familiar. It was like that dungeon place she and Fiona had been locked up in previously, except there was no scent of blood this time. Cautiously, Namine pushed open the door halfway. The two girls peeked around the door curiously.

They appeared to be in a small kitchen. There was a door on the other side of the kitchen that remained closed. Opposite to where they stood was a small stairway that led downwards. A counter was placed behind the door, and it had a small tray of raw meat on it. To Namine, the meat still seemed unprepared. Fiona on the other hand had become very interested with the stairway. She cautiously approached it and began to follow it downwards. Namine soon followed closely behind.

In front of them was a small pile of wood, which appeared to be blocking their way from continuing further. Namine frowned.

"How are we supposed to get through this? There is no way we could shift it out the way"

Fiona walked forward and gave the pieces of wood a rough kick. They snapped immediately upon impact and splintered to the floor. Namine stared on surprised.

"Well, that's one way to clear a path!"

Fiona laughed as the two ventured through into an area that Namine believed to be the cellar. Something caught her eye on the table in front of her. She carefully approached it to find it was a map. Namine smiled as she picked it up off the table.

"Fiona, I've found the map!"

Fiona smiled happily and dashed to Namine's side. As the two looked over it, Namine found that she couldn't read the map at all. There were no notes to suggest what each room was, where it was, or what floor it was on. It showed the structure of the castle and that was it, nothing else. Fiona and Namine sighed simultaneously.

"Great, we found a map that is of no use to us" Fiona sighed. "Now what do we do?"

Namine scrunched her eyebrows in annoyance as she glanced over the map once more.

"I suppose we will just have to wander around the castle aimlessly and try to identify the rooms ourselves. We can mark them on the map then"

Fiona nodded in agreement.

"That's actually a good idea Namine! It's better than doing nothing"

Namine gave her a small smile in reply. The sudden slamming of the kitchen door upstairs caused both girls to jump out of their skin. Someone had entered the kitchen. The two girls exchanged worried glances before slowly walking back up the stairs again. Namine passed Fiona the map so it was safe, and she placed it carefully in her pocket. Fiona made Namine stay back as she looked around the corner. Namine summoned her Keyblade just in case. Slowly following behind Fiona, the two girls walked out into the kitchen and crept their way towards the counter. So far, there appeared to be no one in sight. Namine had come to the conclusion that perhaps the person had left through the other door.

Fiona rested her back against the counter and sighed relieved. There appeared to be no one around. Suddenly a loud cry sounded from behind Fiona as Debilitas jumped up from behind the counter. Immediately Fiona swirled around and screamed as their faces became inches apart. Namine had fallen back with fright at the scene before her. How had Debilitas snuck up on them so easily?! It seems he wasn't as unintelligent as Namine had originally thought. As Debilitas leaned forward to the side of Fiona's face, Fiona threw herself back in panic and landed flat on her backside on the floor. Debilitas laughed childishly at the sudden reaction, and began swiping at her furiously in an attempt to grab at her.

Namine immediately reacted. She leapt to her feet and charged forward, swatting at Debilitas' arm with her Keyblade. Debilitas recoiled back in terror, clutching his arm tightly and crying out in pain. He began to whimper as he examined his arm for any marks or blood. During this little distraction, Namine quickly helped Fiona to her feet and began to drag her by the arm towards the door. She yanked the door open roughly and pulled Fiona through it harshly, slamming the door behind them. The two girls almost tripped as they stumbled into the hallway. They paused for a moment to glance around for an escape route. Fiona immediately charged back towards the stairs they had just walked down, with Namine following close behind.

Fiona suddenly fell forward up the first few steps, causing Namine to trip up over her legs. The two collapsed on the stairs with a thud. Namine quickly scrambled to her feet unscathed and knelt down beside Fiona.

"Are you alright?"

Fiona shook her head.

"I think I've twisted my ankle"

Namine bit her lip. They needed to get away as quickly as possible. Just as she summoned away her Keyblade and began to help Fiona up onto her feet again, the door to the kitchen slowly opened. Debilitas slowly walked out the kitchen sulking and clutching onto his arm tightly. The two girls froze as Debilitas' mouth was gaped open in shock with his eyes widened, making a noise of realisation. He slowly turned his head towards the two girls and began to laugh happily. Namine was finally snapped out of her senses.

She quickly helped Fiona to her feet and put her arm around her shoulders. The two girls slowly backed their way up the stairs as Debilitas slowly began to walk forward. Once they reached the top of the stairs, Fiona sensed that there was someone watching them. She quickly swirled around to find there was no one there. Fiona almost toppled to one side in the process. Namine steadied her as Debilitas came trudging up the stairs. Namine shielded Fiona with her one arm, and summoned her Keyblade with the other. She stood in a fighting stance as Fiona limped back a little, trembling. Namine was just as scared; however, she tried to show she wasn't afraid. Debilitas slowly started to draw closer, not being threatened by Namine's stance.

"Exire Debilitas!"

Debilitas glanced behind the two girls suddenly at the sound of the voice. Namine's eyes widened.

(That's the same voice from before!)

He stared longingly at the back wall for a moment, before sulking and hanging his head towards the floor. Namine and Fiona watched cautiously as he slowly turned around and walked back towards the stairs. Debilitas halted for a moment and looked at the two girls once more, before slowly walking down the stairs. Fiona and Namine stared on after Debilitas confused. What just happened?

"Please excuse me, misses"

Fiona and Namine slowly turned around to find a young man walk around the corner slowly. He looked like a monk since he wore a brown robe and a Christian cross necklace around his neck. He also wore white trousers and brown sandals. His face was covered by the brown hood that had been placed over his head. He stood a good distance away from both girls. Fiona slowly backed away a bit to stand next to Namine, while Namine's grip tightened on her Keyblade. She wasn't prepared to let her guard down yet, even if this person just saved them from Debilitas.

"I am Riccardo, keeper of the castle"

His gaze shifted towards Fiona.

"I am so sorry to hear about your accident Miss Fiona. Your parents…"

Fiona was surprised. How did this person know about what happened? Namine stepped forward defensively, and aimed her Keyblade towards Riccardo.

"How do you know about Fiona's accident?"

"It's just like how we know about what happened to your friends, _Miss_ Namine…"

Fiona and Namine suddenly swirled around. A man with blue hair and yellow eyes slowly walked up the stairs and stood still at the top. There was an "x" shaped scar in the middle of his forehead. He was wearing the black Organisation cloak. Namine frowned. She recognised him straight away.

"Saix! I knew Organisation XIII had something to do with this!"

Saix didn't react. He kept a blank facial expression.

"I see you have already seen Larxene wandering around"

He frowned towards the Keyblade in her hand.

"And I see you have inherited Kairi's ability to summon a Keyblade. You really are her Nobody"

Namine shuddered at the name. _Nobody_… She hated the word, yet she knew it was true. Fiona stared towards her confused. Namine didn't back down.

"Why are we here? What do you want from us?"

"This castle originally belonged to Fiona's parents" Riccardo explained. "However, as Master Ugo and Mistress Ayla are both deceased, you Miss Fiona are the sole surviving heir of Belli Castle"

Fiona seemed lost for words. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Namine narrowed her eyes back towards Saix.

"Why are Organisation involved in a world that has nothing to do with us? Is it because of the darkness that is radiating from here?"

"That I'm afraid is none of your business; although you are here for a very good reason Namine. Your ability could actually help save these people and this castle"

Namine wasn't convinced. The wooden figure of her from that one room came back into memory. They wanted her dead. That she knew. Saix was lying. Namine took a step forward aggressively.

"Tell me the truth Saix! What are you hiding?"

Fiona suddenly felt dizzy. She placed both her hands on the sides of her head. Namine turned to Fiona concerned.

"Fiona, are you alright?"

"Are you in pain Miss? Will you be alright?" Riccardo asked, concerned.

Fiona closed her eyes tightly as she almost stumbled over. Namine caught her left arm and tried to help steady her.

"You've both had a long day" Saix added slyly. "Please, rest upstairs. Your beds have been prepared"

Fiona finally collapsed onto the floor and lay there on her right side. Namine was soon knelt down beside her. She shook her gently.

"Fiona? Fiona, can you hear me?"

There was no response. Namine slowly leaned over her a little to see if she was awake. Fiona had one of her eyes closed; however the other one she managed to keep open. She stared up at Namine with fear in her eyes. She looked quite weary.

(Had she remembered something?)

Riccardo slowly began to walk forward. Namine quickly stood up and stood in a fighting stance. She held her Keyblade in front of her chest defensively.

"Don't you dare take another step! Keep away from her!"

Fiona stared up at Namine with a small smile on her face. Riccardo raised his hands defensively.

"Please Miss Namine, allow me to return Miss Fiona back to her room. The news of her parents has obviously taken quite a toll on her"

Namine growled and shook her head.

"No way, not until I find out what's really going on here! How can we trust you if things are being kept from us?! What happened to her parents?!"

A high pitched ringing suddenly sounded. Namine cried out in agony and fell to her knees. Her Keyblade landed gently beside her and vanished completely. Fiona gasped at the sight before her. Namine could feel her brain shutting down again. She stared at Saix angrily. Saix only smirked as Namine fell on her side. She glanced weakly at Fiona to find she had finally passed out.

"_You will find out in due time, my dear…"_

(It's that voice again!)

Namine glanced up at Riccardo weakly. Was he the one shutting down her brain from before too? The pain that was ringing in her head right now was unbearable. She couldn't fight the wave of dizziness that finally fell over her. Namine's vision blurred as Riccardo and Saix slowly approached the two of them. Finally, her eyes slowly started to close as Riccardo picked a now limp and unconscious Fiona up into his arms…

* * *

Roxas was walking down a staircase, glancing around at the paintings curiously. He couldn't seem to find anyone around here. He began to wonder if the place was actually abandoned. Roxas had managed to find his way into the castle through a door that led into a guest room. After some exploring of the room, he found his way into a corridor and debated with himself which way to go. He then decided to take the stairs route. Now he was really regretting it. He hadn't seen a single soul in this castle yet, which frightened Roxas a little. On top of that, he couldn't find any of his friends anywhere. He was in an unfamiliar area, with his friends missing and the place seemingly abandoned. Lovely.

Roxas came across a door to the left. He went to open it; however, the door was locked. Roxas cursed under his breath and sighed heavily. There seemed to be no way out. He glanced in the other direction to see if he could go that way. The other side of the corridor looked like a storage area. Roxas sighed heavily.

(Looks like I'm gonna have to turn back… I swear, this castle is like a damn maze!)

The handle suddenly turned on the door, making Roxas jump back in fright. He stood in a fighting stance and summoned his Keyblade as a purple haired woman was revealed to be in the doorway. The two stood there in silence for a moment, as Roxas' eyes stared into the cold, emotionless eyes of the woman. Roxas scratched the back of his head nervously.

(At last, someone is here! Now I'm getting somewhere!)

"Er, excuse me. Do you work here?"

No reply came from the purple haired woman. Roxas bit his lip as he tried to find another way to rephrase his question. Perhaps he should introduce himself.

"My name is Roxas. Have you seen anyone with silver, brunette, auburn or light blonde hair around here? And do you know where we are?"

At first, she didn't react; however, at the mention of Roxas, the woman slowly bowed her head.

"Master Roxas, we have been expecting your arrival"

Roxas was taken aback by the woman's reply.

("Master" Roxas... They were expecting me? She must be a maid then with the way she addressed and talked to me)

"Please, come this way. My Masters will see you now"

Roxas watched dumbfounded as the woman swirled around on her heels and strolled into what looked like the dining room. After finally snapping out of his shock, Roxas quickly followed behind the maid through the dining room, through the kitchen and back towards the room where those wooden figures of the two girls were. He had been distracted numerous times by the sights he was passing. Roxas had never seen anything like it before. This world was definitely very peculiar to him. The maid slowly opened the door, and indicated for Roxas to enter. Muttering a thank you, Roxas slowly walked into the room. Sitting on the chairs on either side of the table was a man in a brown robe and a man all too familiar to Roxas. Roxas halted suddenly when he saw the familiar looking man and a familiar looking blonde haired woman standing beside him. His eyes widened.

"Saix?! Larxene?! No, it can't be! Sora..."

Saix slowly stood up along with the other man and began to walk towards him. However, Roxas spotted the two wooden figures sat on the sofa behind them. His eyes rested upon the wooden figure of Namine. He quickly dashed past the two grown men and stood at the side where the figure rested. He stared on in disbelief.

"Namine..."

Roxas swirled around angrily.

"What did you do to Namine?!"

Saix raised a hand calmly.

"There is no need for panic Number 13. That isn't really Namine. That is just a wooden model of her"

Roxas narrowed his eyes angrily.

"What's going on?! Where are Sora, Riku, Kairi and Namine?! And where am I?!"

Riccardo bowed his head.

"I am Riccardo, the keeper of this castle. You are at Castle Belli. I am afraid I have no idea as to where your friends are. Please, take a seat anywhere you like and we will explain everything to you"

Roxas walked uneasily to the nearest sofa and sat down. Saix and Riccardo sat across from him with the maid and Larxene on either side of them.

"There is a reason why you were brought here Number 13" Saix began to explain. "Since you are the bearer of the Keyblade, you hold great power. This is something which we wish to harness"

Roxas didn't like where this conversation was going; however, he wanted to get as much information as possible. He sighed heavily.

"Go on"

"This castle is in quite a bit of danger. Because of the darkness that has overcome it, Riccardo here is at risk of losing this world completely. It is falling apart because the darkness has made this place unstable. The majority of the inhabitants that once resided here had fallen to the Heartless. Your light could save them"

Roxas raised an eyebrow. Organisation XIII doing good? Nah, something was up here. He knew that. He folded his arms stubbornly.

"Why would Organisation XIII want to help out a world that is full of darkness? This is a great opportunity for you, isn't it? You want hearts to help complete Kingdom Hearts. Why do you need me? I may wield the Keyblade, but so does Sora. Ask him if you want help to bring this world back to the light"

Riccardo sighed heavily.

"It seems he is just as stubborn as Miss Namine…"

Roxas stood up quickly at the mention of the name.

"Namine is definitely here too?"

Saix nodded stiffly.

"Yes, we need young Namine too. Her ability will aid us well. Since she has the power to alter the memories of others, she can turn this world back over to the light. Of course, even she rejected the offer. You are probably our only other hope Number 13. Please, for an old friend, help us save this world from being consumed forever"

Roxas sighed.

"My days in Organisation XIII are gone Saix. That's in the past now. I've put it behind me. I am _me_, and _me _alone. I am not going to aid the group who tried to turn the worlds over to darkness"

Saix slowly stood up and summoned a dark corridor.

"Very well, _Roxas_. However, be warned. This castle is full of deadly tricks and turns. Neither you nor Namine will make it out of here alive"

And with that, Larxene, the maid, Saix and Riccardo slowly left through the dark corridor. Roxas was left alone. He stared back thoughtfully towards the figure of Namine.

"Don't worry Namine. I promise that I will find you and get you out of here. I'm not going to let Organisation XIII win this one"

He frowned curiously towards the other wooden figure of a girl slightly older than Namine with a rounded belly.

(I wonder who the other girl is…)

* * *

Namine shot awake to find that she was back in her guest room. A throbbing pain suddenly ran through her head. She gasped and placed a hand to her head. After a couple of seconds, the pain finally subsided. That's when the events of what happened beforehand suddenly came flooding back. She remembered her and Fiona being cornered by a man called Riccardo and Saix. Riccardo told Fiona she was the head of this castle and that her parents died. Then Fiona collapsed and-

(Fiona!)

Namine quickly leapt up from her bed and dashed out of her guest room. She had to make sure she was alright! She quickly charged down the corridor and thrust open Fiona's bedroom door roughly. Fiona jumped and gasped in surprise; however, she sighed in relief when she saw Namine dash in and close the door behind her. Namine smiled at her in relief. Fiona was sitting on the bed.

"Fiona, you're ok!"

Fiona smiled at her in reply.

"I was going to say the same about you!"

Namine suddenly remembered what Riccardo told her and stared down towards the floor solemnly.

"I'm sorry about your parents..."

Fiona smiled sadly.

"It's alright. You're not to blame for what happened. I just can't believe that this is all real…"

Silence suddenly fell in between them. That was when Fiona remembered what she wanted to ask Namine.

"You know that man who was another member of that Organisation? Saix, was it? What did he mean when he called you a Nobody?"

Namine bit her lip and lifted her head to meet Fiona's eyes. She closed her eyes and sighed.

(No more lying. You have to tell her the truth)

"A Nobody is the shell of the original person who has lost their heart and their soul survives. They are half of their original. I'm the Nobody of a girl called Kairi. Nobodies are beings that aren't supposed to exist..."

Namine turned away from Fiona towards the painting of the elderly gentleman on the wall.

"The whole of Organisation XIII are Nobodies too. They have one goal in mind. They want to resurrect Kingdom Hearts, a city where all the light is stored. To do that, they go around killing Heartless and harness the hearts they carry. They only want to be whole"

Namine placed a hand to her chest.

"And yet I helped them, even if it was against my will. I messed with Sora's memories to allow Marluxia to use him as a pawn in an attempt to overthrow the leader of the Organisation, Xemnas. I was alone inside Castle Oblivion for so long. I couldn't allow myself to be locked up in there again. I hated being in Kairi's shadow. She had everything that I wanted, _friends_. I never had that. I was never supposed to exist…"

A hand being placed gently on Namine's shoulder made her jump. She swirled around startled to find Fiona standing behind her, smiling.

"Don't ever say that you aren't meant to exist. It doesn't matter what others have told you and said to you. We are all born into this world for a reason, a purpose. You being here must have a purpose. I mean, without you I would have not gotten this far through this castle alone. I would never have met you. Don't ever doubt your existence Namine, whether you are meant to exist or not"

Namine was surprised at Fiona's words. All the time that she had spent with the Organisation and DiZ, they had all said the same thing. She was a being that wasn't supposed to exist. And yet even though Fiona now knew the truth, here she was telling her the complete and utter opposite. Namine smiled a little.

"Thank you, Fiona. You're the first person who has told me that my existence is actually meaningful"

Fiona smiled brightly back in reply.

"You're welcome! I'm glad I met you anyway"

Suddenly Namine picked up the sound of whining coming from outside. The two girls turned towards the window simultaneously. It seems Fiona had heard it too. The two girls cautiously approached the window and stared down into the courtyard. By a large tree where the roots had grown through the cracks in the stone, was a small white German Shepard dog lying down on its side with something tied around its neck. Namine felt sorry for the dog. She understood what it was like to be shackled to something. She glanced at Fiona solemnly to find her staring down towards the dog with sadness present in her eyes. She placed a hand gently on the window.

"Animal cruelty sickens me. I can't stand it when an animal is treated in such a manner. I think we should help it"

"I agree. I can understand what that dog is going through…"

The girls silently left the room through the door that led outside, and dashed down into the courtyard. Namine had failed to notice how dark it had become. As soon as she had reached the bottom of the steps, she shivered from the cold air that now hung around her. The night was cold, yet it offered a sense of silence. Normally, Namine wouldn't mind the peace of the night; however in a place like this, it could be considered deadly and out of place. The sky was really dark now and it was hard to see the courtyard, yet there were dim lights here and there from the lamps that were scattered like marbles about the place.

Namine and Fiona quickly dashed towards the tree to find the dog still whining. Namine found that they had passed the tree already. Further down the path the tree was on was that dungeon place where she and Fiona had woken up in animal cages. They had neglected to notice and admire the scenery properly at the time, considering their primary objective was and still is to escape this dreaded castle. Namine knelt down beside the poor dog to find he was bound to the tree by a wire that was sticking into his neck. Fiona knelt down beside the back of the dog's head and examined the wire carefully. Namine gently stroked the dog's head in an attempt to give him some comfort.

Namine noticed that dreaded substance present on the wire. The wire was hurting the dog, causing blots of blood to appear on it. Namine shuddered in disgust. The blood had stained some of the dog's white fur, just like the blood had stained her white dress from injuries Larxene had inflicted on her during her harsh beatings back at Castle Oblivion…

Namine was suddenly snapped from her thoughts when Fiona finally managed to free the wire from the dog's neck. The dog slowly lifted himself onto his stomach and glanced around warily. He slowly got to his feet as he glanced up at Fiona, panting a little. Fiona smiled warmly.

"Try not to get caught next time"

The dog slowly began to walk away from the tree as Fiona and Namine finally stood up on their feet again. The dog suddenly halted and turned around to look at the two girls with big black beady eyes. Namine smiled a little towards the dog.

"Go on. You're free now"

The dog continued to stare at the two of them curiously before finally dashing off across the courtyard. Namine glanced back towards the wire curiously.

(Would I be able to find out who tied that dog up in the first place?)

She carefully knelt down in front of it and prodded it with her finger. Sure enough, the familiar pain that she had felt originally ran through her head. She gasped in pain and almost fell back onto the ground; however, Fiona managed to catch her from behind. Namine closed her eyes tightly and prepared for the vision that was appearing in her mind.

* * *

She opened her eyes to the sound of a familiar barking. Namine glanced up towards the other side of the courtyard to find the white German Shepard bounding towards the tree, with a familiar brown robed man following close behind with a pistol and wire in hand. Namine gasped.

(It was Riccardo!)

The dog skidded to a halt at the foot of the tree and started to growl angrily at Riccardo. Riccardo stared down the dog angrily.

"You filthy little mutt, if Debilitas had bothered to lock your cage then this wouldn't have happened!"

He fired the gun in the air, startling the poor dog and causing him to whimper and freeze on the spot. Taking this as an opportunity, Riccardo lunged forward and wrapped the wire tightly around the dog's neck. The German Shepard yelped in pain as Riccardo tied the other end tightly to the base of the tree. Namine jumped back, surprised by the sudden action. Riccardo stared down at the whimpering dog without a single ounce of pity.

"I'm glad I don't need your Azoth as desperately as I thought…"

Namine frowned at the mention of the word "Azoth".

(I came across that word already. What does it mean?)

Namine felt her eyes slowly closing as her surroundings finally started to go black…

* * *

Her eyes flashed open to stare into the blue eyes of Fiona. Namine slowly sat up and placed a hand on her forehead gently.

"It was Riccardo. Riccardo was the one who tied that dog to the tree"

Fiona carefully helped Namine to her feet. Namine could see a glint of anger in Fiona's eyes; however, after a few seconds it was gone. Namine shivered. The air around them had suddenly become even colder than before. Even Fiona rubbed both her arms a little with her hands in order to generate some warmth.

"I think we should head back" Fiona suggested quietly.

Namine nodded a little in agreement. Just as the two started walking back up the steps, a gate creaked open. It had caught the attention of Namine. She quickly dashed over to it, with Fiona not far behind. They found themselves near a large building to their right. On her left, Namine spotted something which made her heart soar. There was the main gate. They were only inches from freedom. Even Fiona had spotted it. She immediately dashed down the walkway towards the gate, and began to roughly try to push it open. Namine tried with all her effort to do the same after she caught up with her. They weren't successful. The gate wouldn't budge.

Namine and Fiona stood back and stared at the gate solemnly. They both felt very disheartened. For a moment, Namine actually thought that the two of them had found an escape route out of this horrid place; however, it appeared that it was locked. The key wasn't on either of them. The two girls silently walked back to Fiona's room, neither saying a word along the way. This gave some time for Namine to think things through.

(We were so close! I thought we were actually going to escape alive from here! I guess I was wrong. We need a key, but where can we get this item from? Would my Keyblade work?)

Namine shook her head.

(No, I doubt it. That's probably a lock which won't work with that kind of key. Great, what do we do now?)

* * *

Just as Fiona and Namine entered Fiona's guest room, Namine sensed another presence within it. She held her arm in front of Fiona to prevent her from going any further. Fiona looked at her confused, and Namine responded by placing her index finger to her lips. Fiona nodded stiffly. The two quietly crept into the room, and halted at the bottom of the steps. Their eyes widened when they saw Debilitas sitting on the bed, sulking. He didn't appear to have realised that they were present.

The girls took this opportunity to try to sneak to the door at the other end of the room; however, Fiona caused the last step to creak. Debilitas suddenly lifted up his head and turned in the direction the noise had come from. Both girls froze. A wide smile lit up Debilitas' face as he waved shyly and made a noise that sounded like "Hi". However, the minute he stood up from the bed, he began to screech angrily. Namine summoned her Keyblade and took a couple of steps forward.

"Stay back!"

Debilitas didn't seem threatened by the sudden action, and slowly began to walk forward. Out of fear, Namine lashed out at Debilitas and slashed his arm. Debilitas cried out in agony as a large scratch formed on his other arm. Namine cringed at the blood that was starting to pour from the wound. She didn't hurt him intentionally. She just acted out of self-defence. Debilitas screeched angrily, and swung his injured arm forward. Namine raised her Keyblade just in time to block the attack; however the force of it sent her flying. She tumbled down the steps and landed by the table in the corner. Her Keyblade flew from her hands and disappeared as soon as it hit the floor.

"Namine!"

Fiona tried to get to her; however, Debilitas blocked her path and caused the poor girl to stumble back onto the floor by the grandfather clock. Debilitas slowly approached Namine, and towered over her while laughing childishly. She glanced up at him weakly. It seems he realised that she was more of a threat than Fiona was. Just as Debilitas went to grab hold of her, a white blur leapt in the air and gripped tightly onto Debilitas' hand with its teeth. Debilitas recoiled back in agony, crying out in pain at the sudden attack. Namine could make out the shape of a dog. A white dog… It was the same dog they had saved earlier! Debilitas stumbled back up the steps, but managed to regain his balance. The dog stood tall and proud in front of Namine protectively, and began to continually bark at the large man before him.

Debilitas frowned and started flailing his arms about in the air. The dog lunged forward once again, and bit tightly onto the large man's hand. Debilitas flung his hand about wildly in an attempt to get him off. Once the dog had loosened his grip, Debilitas made a mad dash for the exit. Namine and Fiona quickly leapt to their feet and slammed the door shut as soon as he had left. They both began gasping for breath as they pressed their backs tightly against the door. They slowly slid down it back onto the floor again, trying to calm down from that sudden ordeal. This place was full of unexpected events, yet neither of the girls had adjusted to such a thing yet. Namine glanced towards the dog who was now standing a small distance away, panting. Namine took a deep breath and smiled warmly towards the dog.

"Thank you. You saved me"

The dog shifted a bit from where he stood, deciding whether he should approach the two girls or not. Fiona sat up a bit straighter and held out her hand.

"Come here. Come on boy"

The dog started to walk slowly towards the two girls, but eventually picked up the speed in his walking. He halted in front of Fiona and began to sniff her hand curiously. Fiona gently fussed the dog's head, which he allowed without making a sound to suggest he didn't want her to touch him. The dog openly licked Fiona's face before turning to Namine and nuzzling her hand. Namine giggled. Fiona smiled.

"What's your name?"

A sudden thought crossed Namine's mind. They had met the dog before. It was the same dog they had encountered in that dungeon area. So that means…

"The dog's name must be Hewie"

Fiona looked at Namine with realisation appearing across her face. The dog finally walked away from them and returned back to his original position, sitting down.

"So you're Hewie!" Fiona commented happily. "Well, hi Hewie!"

The dog, now dubbed as Hewie, barked happily in response. Namine and Fiona both laughed happily as they helped each other to their feet. It seemed they had now gained a new furry companion. Fiona glanced towards the door.

"So, now what do we do?"

Namine clicked her fingers. She had remembered something, and Hewie could help them out with it!

"Oh, remember that hole in the wall that we came across when we were exploring the courtyard? It was too small for me or you to get through. We can send Hewie through there though! He's small enough!"

Fiona nodded stiffly in agreement.

"Great idea Namine! Alright then, let's hurry! I want to get away from this dreaded castle as soon as possible!"

The two girls quickly dashed towards the other door. Namine turned around and smiled widely at Hewie.

"Come on Hewie!"

Hewie followed closely at Namine's heels as the two girls quickly dashed back out towards the courtyard.

* * *

**And now Hewie has tagged along! Things are really starting to get good, right? Please continue supporting this story guys! I really appreciate it! :)**


	4. Chapter 4: The Phone Call

**Thank you to the person who reviewed again for this story.** **I'm glad this is starting to get some attention and that people are liking it. Here is the next chapter for this story, which took me some time to write because I've been doing my exams and stuff. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Chapter 4: The Phone call

The two girls quickly dashed back towards the gate. The box was still stuck in front of the hole. Hewie sat down on the ground as Namine knelt down beside the hole. She examined it carefully and nodded.

"Yes, this hole is big enough for Hewie to crawl through!"

She stood back up again slowly and pointed towards the hole, looking at Hewie.

"Hewie, go through the hole"

Hewie stared at her blankly for a moment, before lying down on the ground. Namine sighed.

"I guess he doesn't want to listen to me… Here Fiona, you have a go"

Fiona nodded stiffly and pointed towards the hole, making direct eye contact with Hewie.

"Hewie, go through the hole"

Hewie barked in reply and obediently got up, walking slowly towards the hole. He quickly walked through. Namine and Fiona went to the gate to find Hewie was already nudging the box to the side with his nose. The two stared at him surprised as Hewie sat there staring back, panting and wagging his tail back and forth happily.

"Hewie appears to be smarter than I originally thought…" Fiona commented quietly.

Namine giggled.

"I guess he's just an extraordinary dog!"

Fiona nodded quickly in agreement.

After shoving open the gate, the two girls had a quick scan of the area. A thorough search proved useless as they found nothing that could be of any use to them, or even another way to get away from there. Fiona sighed heavily.

"There is no way out of here. Where else can we go?"

Namine remembered something.

"Hey, remember when we were walking back towards your guestroom after discovering the gate and there was a pile of rubble on the side of the path? I think there was something on top of that we might need. Perhaps Hewie could retrieve it for us"

"Oh yes, I remember! Well, let's hurry then!"

* * *

The trio quickly headed back across the courtyard with Hewie following close behind. They walked back towards the gate and stopped near a large pile of rubble shoved into the corner out of the way of the path. Namine had been right about the object on top of the large pile. There was definitely something up there; however, the pile looked too steep for either of the girls to climb. This is where Hewie comes in.

Namine and Fiona stepped back to allow Hewie enough running space to be able to launch himself upwards.

"Hewie, go get it boy!"

Fiona indicated with her finger towards the object on top of the pile. Hewie barked in reply, moved back as far as he could go, and then quickly ran forward. They both watched in awe as Hewie dashed up the pile of rubble with ease, reaching the top unscathed. He grabbed hold of the object tightly with his teeth, before slowly walking back down again. He carefully placed the object in front of Namine's feet.

As Fiona praised him for his efforts, Namine examined the object curiously. It looked like a broken marionette, as one of the strings used to control the puppet had been snapped.

(Hm… Where on earth could this object be used?)

Then Namine recalled their confrontation with Riccardo and Saix. They were standing in front of a door just to the right of her that didn't have a handle. It however had a hook on it. Namine turned towards Fiona and Hewie.

"I know where we can use this. But we're going to have to find another way around somehow, because Hewie can't climb down ladders"

Fiona put her hand to her chin in thought for a moment.

"Well, how about we try the staircase near the guest rooms. There should be a door down there that will lead us back"

Namine nodded. With Hewie close at their heels, the two girls went back through Fiona's guest room and down the staircase. Sure enough there was a door that led into a large dining room. There was a long rectangle table in the middle of the room that had been set up already with cutlery in front of every single chair. Namine frowned at this.

(Why would they set up a table for a whole group of people when there are only two "guests" here?)

Another door was further down and to their left. Fiona decided to go first, with Namine and Hewie following close behind. As they neared the door, Namine could pick up the sound of clattering pots and pans. Someone was in there.

Fiona cautiously opened the door. The trio slowly walked through to find Daniella standing in front of a large pot on a stove, slowing stirring it. She looked like she was preparing dinner, since a lot of steam was rising from inside the pot. Namine recognised the area they were in.

(So that's where that door led to…)

Namine stared at the ladle curiously as Daniella lifted it up out of the pot to find what looked like pasta dangling from it. She glanced towards Fiona curiously to find her eyes fixed on it intently. Hewie had started growling angrily at Daniella; however Daniella took no notice.

Namine gently grabbed Fiona's sleeve and quietly led Fiona out the other door, with Hewie following close behind. By the look on her face, Namine could tell that the pasta had shocked her in some way. Once out of earshot, she gently released Fiona's arm.

"Are you alright? What happened back there?"

Fiona stared at Namine confused.

"I'm not sure, but for some reason that pasta seemed very familiar… I don't know why though"

Fiona then surveyed the area they were in.

"Why are we back here?"

Namine started walking back up the steps towards the door missing the handle, with Hewie and Fiona not that far behind. She pointed to the door.

"I remembered this door when we were confronted by Riccardo and Saix. It doesn't have a handle, and only has a hook. To open the door something needs to be placed onto the hook, so-"

Namine carefully hooked the marionette onto the hook with the strings and carefully stepped back. The hook slowly dropped downwards like a lever, and a clicking sound was heard. The door slowly opened. Fiona stared on surprised.

"I'm surprised to find that you remembered this during the situation we were in"

Namine smiled a little.

"I guess I just have a very good memory"

The two girls cautiously stepped into the room. Straight away they were put off at the sight before them. Creepy dolls were pinned to the walls with sowing needles. In the middle of the room there was a wall which separated the two sides. Black metal bars showed that on the other side was the door. Thinking that they had to walk around the other side of the wall, Fiona and Namine slowly did so; however once they reached the other side, Namine halted in her tracks at the sight she saw. On the left side of her were eye shaped objects scattered along the wall. Namine found this very odd. She didn't like this room one bit. There had to be a catch somewhere.

And sure enough, that catch was revealed as soon as Fiona stepped onto the red rug that was along the floor. The eye shaped objects opened to reveal eyes, with holes where the pupils were supposed to be. Namine immediately grabbed the back of Fiona's shirt, yanking her back quickly as needles came flying out of the eyes and stabbed the dolls pinned to the wall on the opposite side. The two girls stood there frozen, as they tried to process what had just happened.

After a small amount of silence had passed, Fiona sighed heavily in relief. She was still shaking a little at the fact that she was almost impaled to death by needles, but she seemed to have calmed down a bit now.

"Thank you. If you hadn't pulled me back I would have been dead for sure"

Namine nodded in acknowledgement. They both glanced at the trap again.

"How are we supposed to get to the door on the other side then?"

That was when Namine realised they were missing Hewie.

"Wait, where's Hewie?"

Suddenly the sound of something moving upwards caused the two girls to jump back in fright. They slowly walked around to find that the bars blocking the way had now been lifted up.

"How did that lift upwards?" Fiona wondered, confused.

Namine could hear barking come from outside the door. She quickly dashed back out with Fiona following close behind. They walked further down the corridor to find Hewie standing on something. As soon as he saw them, he quickly dashed over to them and sat down at their feet, panting happily. By doing so, a loud thud was heard from the room they had just come out of. Fiona popped her head around the door again to check. Her eyes widened.

"The bars have come back down again!"

Namine glanced at the place where Hewie had been stood, lost in thought. Then realisation soon hit her.

"I understand now. Hewie was standing on a pressure plate. He caused the bars to lift up by standing on the pressure plate. And when he came off it, the bars came back down. His weight held it up"

Fiona laughed a little.

"Oh I see. It was Hewie the entire time!"

Hewie barked happily and sat there, wagging his tail. He knew he had found something that had pleased them judging by their reactions. Namine knelt down in front of him, gently patting his head.

"Good boy Hewie"

Hewie barked happily again, and licked Namine's hand. She slowly stood back up.

"I think I know how we can get to the door now without being impaled"

Namine walked over towards the pressure plate and stood in the middle of it. The sound was heard again, this time a bit fainter.

"Come here Hewie"

Hewie immediately obeyed and walked to where Namine was stood so that he was in front of her. She was surprised that he had listened to her this time.

"Hewie, sit"

Hewie sat down without making any noise. Namine slowly made her way around him so that she was off the pressure plate.

"Stay Hewie"

Hewie barked in reply and stayed sat on the pressure plate. Fiona and Namine quickly headed back to the doll room so Hewie wouldn't have to wait for ages for them to come back. The bars had been raised. Namine went first, cautiously walking under it to the other side; however, just as she did so, the bars came thudding back down again. She swirled around surprised to find her way back was blocked. Hewie slowly walked into the room and sat down beside Fiona, not really concerned with the situation. Fiona sighed, shaking her head.

"Don't worry. I'll go and stand on the pressure plate in a minute to raise it back up if needed. Is the door locked?"

Just as Namine went to try the door, something caught her eye. She turned to her left to find a lever on the wall. Curiosity got the better of her as she gently grabbed onto it with her small pale hands, yanking it down as hard as she could. A click was soon heard. Fiona and Namine looked around in an attempt to see if any changes to the room had been made. Namine sighed heavily and sat down on the floor.

"Nothing happened. I feel as if we're not making any progress here at all…"

Hewie walked around the other side of the wall to stand on the other side of the trap. Fiona watched him curiously, following close behind. Then, without warning, the dog darted across the trap and to Namine's lap, gently nuzzling her hand in an attempt to cheer her up a bit. Namine stared back at the trap wide eyed.

"Wait, did that lever switch off the trap?"

Fiona stayed stood where she was, debating with herself as to whether she should take a step forward or not. After finally making a decision, she quickly placed a foot on the rug and pulled it away again. Nothing happened. Fiona, now a bit more reassured, took a step forward. Still nothing happened. Fiona took a risk and quickly ran across to the other side. She was safe. Nothing happened. Fiona sighed heavily in relief.

"It must have definitely switched off the trap. Otherwise Hewie would have been hurt"

Namine gently petted Hewie on the head before standing up again.

"You did a good job boy"

Hewie wagged his tail happily in reply. Fiona slowly walked over to the door and gently opened it. It led out into another corridor. The trio cautiously walked down the corridor and down a few steps as they continued forward.

A ringing noise suddenly sounded. Namine and Fiona turned their heads to the right to find a phone resting on a nearby table. It was ringing. Fiona and Namine exchanged frightened glances before Fiona slowly walked forward towards the table. She looked back at Namine for a confirmation on whether she should answer it or not. Namine slowly nodded. Hewie's fur was on end as he eyed the phone cautiously. Taking a deep breath, Fiona carefully picked it up and put the phone to her ear.

Fiona gasped, surprised at the sound of heavy breathing coming through the receiver.

"Fiona… Namine…"

Both girls froze at the sound of the elderly voice speaking to them through the phone. The tone of the voice sounded very sinister, and Namine could make out that it was the voice of a male. Namine slowly walked to stand at Fiona's side as Fiona prepared to speak down the phone.

"W-Who is this?"

Her response came out quite quiet and shaky, but the elderly man seemed to pick it up, for he replied back very quickly.

"You must pay attention now, Fiona and Namine. Be wary of Saix and Riccardo. Your Azoth, and your ability…"

The phone line went dead then. Fiona hesitated, before deciding to speak.

"Hello? Hello?! Are you there?"

There was no answer. Fiona shakily put the phone down and turned to face Namine confused.

"What did they mean by "Azoth"? We've come across this word so many times and yet I have no idea what it means…"

Namine shrugged.

"I'm afraid I don't know…"

A familiar childish laugh suddenly echoed from the doorway back from where they came. Hewie began growling angrily. The two girls stared at the doorway alarmed.

"Debilitas…" Namine muttered.

"We'd better hurry and get away"

The two girls quickly opened the door at the other end of the room and ran through, with Hewie following close behind. The two found themselves in a room with a large set of stairs. A door was to their left. They had no idea on which way they should go.

"Which way do we go?" Namine asked, panicked.

Another delighted laugh from the man sounded from behind, causing both girls to jump in fright.

"Let's try up the stairs!" Fiona suggested quickly.

Hearing his footsteps thudding closer, the trio dashed up the stairs and out onto a balcony. On the other side of said balcony was a small corridor with a door. They continued to run until they reached this door, but were struck with horror when they yanked it open.

They had landed in a creepy room filled with creepy looking dolls. They were both very tired by this point, and knew that they couldn't keep running. Debilitas' childish laugh rang out again a bit louder this time. Fiona panicked.

"What do we do?"

Both girls scanned the room for somewhere to hide. Namine glanced behind her to find a large brown wooden wardrobe. She pushed it open roughly to find it empty. It was big enough for them both to hide in.

"Quick! In here!"

Fiona nodded stiffly and quickly followed Namine into the wardrobe. Hewie leapt in after them, curling up by their feet. Fiona quickly closed the door as Debilitas' footsteps thudded loudly and quickly towards the room. Namine felt her heart hitting off her ribcage as he entered the room, or at least that's what it felt like. She knew she didn't have a heart. It was just a memory of the experience of fear. She stood up on her tiptoes a little to look through the little holes pattern in the wardrobe door along with Fiona.

Debilitas began wandering randomly around the room, searching every nook and cranny that he could think of. The only sound the two girls could hear was their own heavy breathing and his childish giggling. It was frightening. They didn't know whether they would be found or not. It was a 50/50 chance. As soon as Debilitas turned towards the wardrobe, Namine flattened her feet again and backed away from the door slightly.

Debilitas stood in front of the wardrobe door for a moment, sniffing it curiously. Hewie stood up, preparing to pounce if Debilitas opened the wardrobe door. Namine shifted slightly towards Fiona for comfort. Despite the fact that Fiona was just as scared, she felt she needed to comfort the younger girl regardless. Fiona held Namine's hand tight in an attempt to reassure her that they would be ok.

Namine and Fiona were both trembling as Debilitas went to grab the handle on the door; however a noise from elsewhere distracted him. Namine and Fiona both let out a breath of relief as Debilitas dashed out the room back the way they came in. They waited a few moments in silence.

"Is he gone?" Namine whispered, still trembling a little.

"Yes, I think so"

Fiona slowly and carefully opened up the wardrobe and looked to her left and right to ensure he was definitely gone, before cautiously stepping out. Hewie followed closely behind Fiona, sniffing the air to make sure Debilitas wasn't coming back. Namine carefully stepped out last, looking around the room while shaking a little.

"I think we should hurry and move on before he comes back"

Fiona nodded stiffly in agreement. The three of them quietly exited out the room to their left.

After walking around a bit more along a staircase just outside the doll room, they entered through another door to their right and soon found themselves outside on what appeared to be a wide old fashioned version of a balcony. Namine eyed the ground cautiously. For some reason this didn't appear to look stable. The ground was aged and cracked, and any more weight added to it might cause it to crumble underneath them without warning. Both girls slowly walked to the edge of this balcony in an attempt to look down to see what was beneath them.

Namine saw it out of the corner of her eye the minute Fiona stepped on a certain part of the balcony. She was too late as by the time Namine had grabbed her sleeve, the ground in that area had started to collapse and crumble. Both girls cried out in terror as they tumbled down with the rubble, falling quite a distance before they landed on the ground again. Namine lay on her back, wincing in pain. Her body ached all over, and she was glad that it was just from the impact of hitting the ground. She stared up with widened eyes as a familiar large looking man stood at the top where the rubble still was. Debilitas must have heard their cries and decided to come to investigate. They hadn't fully lost him it seems…

The crumbled rubble had created almost like a pathway that led down from where they had fallen, to the ground. Debilitas began to laugh happily as he prepared to leap down. Namine instantly reacted and got to her feet, struggling a little at first. She kneeled down by Fiona and gently shook her by the shoulders.

"Fiona! Fiona, come on! We have to get away!"

Fiona didn't reply. She lay still on the ground on her stomach with her eyes closed. Namine fell onto her backside as Debilitas landed near them on his feet, having managed to jump down unscathed. Namine was surprised at how he had done that. He must have been more athletic than she originally thought… He began laughing childishly as he stared down at Fiona, and slowly began to stalk his way towards her. Namine knew Fiona was still alive, and that she had to protect her while she was unconscious. Hewie whined as he stared down at Namine from above. He felt helpless, since he couldn't find a safe way down to help them.

As Debilitas towered over Fiona, Namine quickly scrambled to her feet and summoned her Keyblade.

"Stay away from her!"

Namine swiped at Debilitas' arm viciously. Debilitas howled in agony and stumbled back, clutching his arm tightly. Blood stained his dirty cream coloured shirt. Namine slowly began to back away as Debilitas eyed her angrily. She waved her arms frantically.

"Come after me! Look! I'm the bigger threat!"

As soon as Debilitas started slowly walking towards her, Namine swirled around on her heels and started dashing under a nearby archway as fast as she could. Namine had no idea what she was doing, but she had to protect Fiona in some way. Once she'd made it out to the other side she looked around terrified for another way out.

(What have I just got myself into?!)

Namine turned to her left, running across a raised walkway and into a tunnel with a mysterious red glow inside. She had no idea where she was going, but she had to keep going. She had to keep Debilitas away from Fiona and Hewie long enough for Fiona to get away, even if it meant that she had to die. Namine continued running aimlessly without looking back or focusing on where she was going.

* * *

She finally came across what looked like a small shack with a bonfire in front of it.

(I can hide in here!)

The sound of footsteps behind her caused her heart and breathing to accelerate as she dashed inside the shack, slamming the door shut behind her. It was smaller than how she had seen it on the outside. Namine looked around aimlessly for somewhere to hide. There was nowhere for her to go. Namine held her chest as beads of sweat gathered on her forehead. Her heart was smacking hard against her ribcage now, and was very close to breaking out of her chest. Namine shook that thought out of her head immediately. It was just a memory of feeling fear, nothing more.

(It's a dead end!)

The door was flung open. Namine turned towards the door with widened eyes to find Debilitas slowly walking in, chuckling in delight at having found her. He must have thought it was all one big game of hide and seek. Namine stood in a defensive stance with her Keyblade close to her chest.

"Keep away! I'm warning you!"

Debilitas shot his large hand forward and yanked Namine's Keyblade from her tiny hands easily. Her strength was of no match to his, so she wasn't able to pull it back from him. He threw it to one side angrily, causing it to disappear as soon as it smacked against the wall harshly. Namine had nothing to defend herself with now. She slowly backed away as Debilitas began screeching angrily at her, raising his hands above his head. Her back hit the wall. She slowly slid down it to sit on the floor as Debilitas towered over her like a giant.

Namine was trembling horridly now. This was it. She was going to die. She cowered against the wall, trying to think of a way she could try to save herself at the last minute. Debilitas was leaning down now, slowly reaching out his hand to grab her arms. She swallowed back her fear and stared into Debilitas' eyes angrily.

"I said: Keep away!"

Debilitas' head suddenly twitched slightly. He became frozen like a statue, staying absolutely still. Namine's eyes widened. She had seen this happen before. The same thing had happened to Repliku when he was about to attack Sora-

Namine stopped her thoughts immediately. She had realised what she'd done.

(Oh no... I didn't just...)

"Namine!"

Namine watched Debilitas collapse onto the floor in front of her as Fiona and Hewie came charging into the shack. She stared down at his body terrified.

(H-Have I just...?)

Hewie immediately ran towards Namine, whining and nuzzling her arm in an attempt to get her to talk to see if she was ok. She couldn't speak. Had she broken Debilitas' memories without realising? Fiona stood beside Debilitas where he lay. She looked back between him and Namine confused.

"What happened?"

Namine felt tears start to build up in her eyes. She glanced down towards her lap as she felt her warm tears trail down her cheeks. The thought of using her ability again to hurt someone who had the mind of a child and didn't understand anything upset her dearly. It was a repeat of the mistakes in Castle Oblivion, the mistakes she had sworn to put right. And yet Debilitas might be dead right now because she broke his chain of memories.

Her silent tears soon turned into sobs as Fiona carefully knelt down beside her, gently pulling her into a hug. She gently rubbed the younger girl's back in an attempt to calm her down. Hewie sat down beside the two girls, staring sadly at Namine. He continued to gently nudge her shoulder to stop her crying. He couldn't stand to see her upset. Namine would have hugged back if she wasn't trembling uncontrollably.

* * *

After another minute or so, Namine managed to calm herself. She took in a deep, shaky breath, slowly wiping her eyes with her hands. She pulled herself away from Fiona, sitting down on her knees with her hands in her lap. She gently patted Hewie on the head, attempting a smile.

"Thank you Hewie"

Fiona stared down at her concerned, staying knelt down in front of her.

"What happened here?"

Namine sighed and glanced up at her with teary eyes.

"Debilitas chased me into this shack. I tried to fend him off with my Keyblade, but he took it from me. And then I..."

Namine swallowed to prevent her voice from cracking.

"I-I think I broke his chain of memories... But it was an accident! I didn't mean to do it!"

Fiona frowned confused.

"What does that mean?"

Namine felt the tears start to run down her face again.

"It means that by breaking his memories, I might have killed him..."

Fiona was still really confused.

"How did you manage that?"

Namine shook her head as the tears started to worsen again.

"I-I don't know. It just happened. This is the second time it has happened now. This was a mistake I wasn't supposed to make again. But I…"

Fiona wiped away the tears from her eyes and smiled comfortingly, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

"You were frightened. You only acted out of self-defence. It wasn't your fault"

Hewie sniffed Debilitas lying still on the floor and growled when his hand started to twitch. Namine and Fiona looked on wide eyed as a small groan escaped from Debilitas' mouth. Namine sighed shakily in relief knowing that he was still alive. Her mind had been put at ease a bit. Fiona carefully helped Namine back up onto her feet again.

"Come on. Let's get away from here before he wakes up"

The three of them silently exited the shack and began walking back the way they came. Hewie walked closely beside Namine the entire time, just to make sure she was ok. Namine wiped the rest of her tears away as Fiona walked beside her, with her arm around her shoulders.

"By the way, how did you and Hewie know where I was?"

"Hewie followed your scent until we heard you cry out from nearby. I don't know how he managed to get down from the balcony though..."

The two girls glanced down at Hewie, who stared back at up at them, barking happily. Namine smiled a little. She had a pretty good guess as to how Hewie might have gotten down from there…

Namine felt so much better knowing that Debilitas was alive. Yet she still felt a small pang of guilt for what she did.

(I honestly hope I never do that again, even if it was an accident...)

* * *

**Please continue to leave your thoughts on this story. I honestly appreciate it. :)**


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